SAN QUENTIN, Calif. (KRON) – COVID-19 has carried out the sentence handed down to a dozen condemned inmates at San Quentin.

The coronavirus related deaths come as the prison attempts to contain an outbreak of the virus within its walls. The outbreak has led the state to begin granting early release to some prisoners.

The last execution to take place in California was in 2006. In March of 2019 Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order placing a moratorium on executions in the state.

Below are the condemned inmates whose deaths are linked to COVID-19.

Pedro Arias

Condemned San Quentin inmate Pedro Arias died at the age of 58
  • Sentenced to death Feb 22, 1990
  • Murder, Robbery, Rape, Kidnapping
  • Died August 9, 2020 due to COVID-19 complications

Pedro Arias was sentenced to death in Sacramento County on Feb. 22, 1990, for first-degree murder and second-degree robbery while armed with a firearm.

The Crime:

In May of 1987, Pedro Arias was involved in the robbery of a Beacon Gas Station on Fruitridge Road in Sacramento that left a clerk dead. According to court documents, a friend of Arias’ stole a 12 pack of beer and ran out of the store. Arias then grabbed a female clerk from behind and held a knife to her while demanding that she open her cash register. When she could not open the register another employee approached and Arias stabbed him. Arias got away with between $45 and $90 dollars from the robbery. The stabbed employee died from loss of blood while in emergency surgery.

13 Days after the robbery, the Arias was involved in an car accident on Highway 50 in Sacramento. After the woman he hit pulled over to exchange insurance information, Arias pulled out a gun and tried to rob her. When Arias realized she had no money in her purse, he forced her into his car. He made the victim undress from the waist down and sexually assaulted her while driving. Arias then drove the victim to a secluded area and raped her before placing her in the trunk of his vehicle and later making her drive to an ATM. The victim was able to escape while Arias was attempting to use the ATM. Arias was later arrested after carjacking a truck.

Orlando Romero

Condemned San Quentin inmate Orlando Romero died at the age of 48
  • Sentenced to death August 28, 1996
  • Murder, Robbery
  • Died August 2, 2020 due to COVID-19 complications

Orlando Romero was sentenced to death in Riverside County on Aug. 28, 1996, for first-degree murder and second-degree robbery while armed with a firearm. He was admitted onto death row on Sept. 4, 1996.

The Crime:

Orlando Romero and his brother were found guilty of a violent crime spree in Riverside County between October 8, 1992 and November 30 1992. The victims were chosen at random. According to court documents the seemingly unconnected crimes included murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, carjacking, assault with a deadly weapon and vandalism. The crimes were committed in Lake Matthews, Moreno Valley, Mead Valley, Riverside, Perris and Beaumont. Three people were found murdered: Joey Mans, Timothy Jones and Jose Aragon.

Johnny Avila Jr.

Condemned San Quentin inmate Johnny Avilla Jr. died at the age of 62
  • Sentenced to death March 31, 1995
  • Double Murder
  • Died July 26, 2020 due to COVID-19 complications

Johnny Avila, Jr. was sentenced to death in Fresno County on March 21, 1996, for two counts of first-degree murder. He had been on death row since March 31, 1995.

The Crime:

According to court documents, during the late night and early morning hours of July 31 and August 1, 1991, two young women, Dorothy Medina and Arlene Sanchez attended a gathering in rural Fresno. One of the women was gang-raped, both women were then driven to a canal bank and killed.

Troy Ashmus

Condemned San Quentin inmate Troy A. Ashmus died at the age of 58
  • Sentenced to death July 25, 1986
  • Murder, Rape of a Child
  • Died July 20, 2020 due to COVID-19 complications

Troy Ashmus was admitted to state prison from Sacramento County on Sept. 18, 1985, to serve a six-year sentence for assault with intent to commit a specific sex crime. While incarcerated, he was sentenced to death on July 25, 1986, by a Sacramento County jury for first-degree murder and forcible rape.

The Crime:

Ashmus killed seven-year-old Marcella Davis near Howe Park in Sacramento. According to court documents on May 19, 1984, he lured his victim from the park by offering to show the child a duck’s nest.

John Beames

Condemned San Quentin inmate John M. Beames died at the age of 67
  • Sentenced to death October 11, 1995
  • Murder
  • Died July 21, 2020 due to COVID-19 complications

John Beames was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in Tulare County on Oct. 11, 1995.

The Crime:

Beames killed the woman he lived with on January 19, 1994. According to court documents, the victim, Angelita McMain bled to death after she was beaten. Evidence at trial indicated the victim had suffered numerous injuries in the days leading up to her death.

Jeffrey Hawkins

Condemned San Quentin inmate Jeffrey J. Hawkins died at the age of 64
  • Sentenced to death in 1990
  • Two Murders
  • Died July 21, 2020 due to COVID-19 complications

Hawkins was committed to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on Feb. 9, 1990, as a condemned inmate from Sacramento County for two counts of first-degree murder with use of a firearm, and attempted first-degree murder with use of a firearm inflicting great bodily injury.

The Crime:

Hawkins was convicted of shooting two men in 1987. According to court documents, Hawkins killed John Hedlund, a disabled former lumberyard worker, after spotting him at a bar. Days later, Hawkins killed Alfonzo Hicks Jr., a Rancho Cordova convenience store customer, during a robbery.

Dewayne Carey

Condemned San Quentin inmate Dewayne Michael Carey, died at the age of 59
  • Sentenced to death December 16, 1996
  • Murder, Robbery
  • Died July 4, 2020 due to COVID-19 complications

Dewayne Carey was committed to CDCR on Dec. 16, 1996 as a condemned inmate from Los Angeles County for first-degree murder.

The Crime:

According to court documents, on April 19, 1995, Dewayne Carey robbed and killed a woman inside her Harbor City, Southern California home. The victim, Ernestine Campbell, was bound and stabbed to death.

Joseph Cordova

Condemned San Quentin inmate Joseph S. Cardova, died at the age of 75
  • Sentenced to death May 11, 2007
  • Murder, Rape of a Child
  • Died July 1, 2020 due to COVID-19 complications

Joseph S. Cordova had been on California’s death row since 2007. He was sentenced to death in Contra Costa County on May 11, 2007, for the rape and murder of an eight-year-old in San Pablo.

The Crime:

On Aug. 24, 1979, the mother of eight-year-old Cannie Melinda Bullock had left her home alone that night. Her body was found in the backyard the next morning. In 2002, investigators matched DNA from the crime scene to Cordova. He was serving a prison sentence in Colorado for child molestation.

Richard Stitely

Condemned San Quentin inmate Richard E. Stitely, died at the age of 71
  • Sentenced to death September 14, 1992
  • Murder, Rape
  • Died June 24, 2020 due to COVID-19 complications

Richard E. Stitely was sentenced to death in Los Angeles County on Sept. 14, 1992.

The Crime:

Stitely was convicted of the rape and murder of Carol Unger, who on Jan. 19, 1990, was last seen leaving the White Oak Bar in Reseda with Stitely. According to court documents, her body was found the next day in a parking lot of a North Hollywood industrial complex.

David Reed

Condemned San Quentin inmate David Reed died at the age of 60
  • Sentenced to death October 31, 2011
  • Murder
  • Died July 7, 2020 due to COVID-19 complications

David Reed was sentenced on Oct. 31, 2011, in Riverside County for first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon and was admitted onto death row on Nov. 16, 2011.

The Crime:

Reed killed a homeless man, Rick Mosley, in a 2004 attack that was believed to be racially motivated in Palm Springs.

Scott Erskine

Condemned San Quentin inmate Scott Erskine died at the age of 57
  • Sentenced to death September 1, 2004
  • Double Murder (Children)
  • Died July 3, 2020 due to COVID-19 complications

Scott Erskine was condemned by San Diego County for two counts of first-degree murder with use of a firearm. He had already been serving a 70 year prison sentence when DNA evidence linked him to the murder of two young boys.

The Crime:

Erskine killed 13-year-old Charlie Keever and 9-year-old Jonathan Sellers on March 27, 1993, in South Bay, San Diego County. The boys disappeared while on a bicycle ride near their homes. A jogger found their semi-nude bodies two days later. Erskine lured the victims into an igloo-shaped “fort” of brush, tied them up, and molested them before strangling them, authorities said.

Manuel Alvarez

Condemned San Quentin inmate Manuel Alvarez died at the age of 59
  • Sentenced to death September 14, 1989
  • Murder, Robbery, Rape
  • Died July 3, 2020 due to COVID-19 complications

Manuel Alvarez was committed to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation as a condemned inmate from Sacramento County on September 14, 1989, for first-degree murder, first-degree attempted robbery, rape with force, vehicle theft, and first-degree robbery.

The Crime:

According to court documents Alvarez stabbed and killed Allen Ray Birkman in a Sacramento shopping center parking lot during a robbery attempt. The victim, who worked for the police department, had just withdrawn $60 from an ATM.

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